Outbound Flight (звёздные войны)

by Timothy Zahn

  "You have your orders, Tech Uliar," Omano again cut him off. "If you don't like it, you're welcome to take it up with Master C'baoth. Omano out." There was a click, and the comm went dead.

  Uliar looked up to find Ma'Ning's eyes on him. "Fine," he said, meeting the Jedi's gaze head-on. If they thought he was going to bow and scrape just because they wore those affected peasant robes and carried lightsabers, they had an extra bonus think coming. "Where do I find Master C'baoth?"

  "He's down in the Jedi training center," Ma'Ning said. "Storage core, section one twenty-four."

  Uliar stared at him. "Your school's in thestorage core? What's wrong with the Dreadnaughts?"

  Ma'Ning's lip twitched. "Master C'baoth thought it would be best if we were as far away from distractions as possible."

  Distractions like parents and family and normal people? Probably. Deep inside him, Uliar's annoyance was starting to turn into a genuine simmering anger. "Fine," he said. "I'll be back."

  "Well?" Algrann asked when he emerged into the corridor.

  "Omano's knuckled under," Uliar told him tartly. "I'm going to go talk to the Big Clouf himself and see if I can talk some sense into him."

  "Captain Pakmillu?"

  "Pakmillu doesn't seem to be running the show anymore," Uliar growled. "I'm going to see C'baoth. Either of you want to come along?"

  They exchanged glances, and Uliar could almost see them shrinking back behind their faces. "We'd better stay here," Sivv answered. "Whenever Ma'Ning finishes, weare supposed to be on duty."

  "Sure," Uliar said, feeling his lip twist with contempt. Why did everyone go instantly spineless whenever jedi were involved? "See you later."

  He took a turbolift down to Dreadnaught-4's lowest level, then made his way forward until he reached one of the massive pylons that attached the Dreadnaughts to the storage core beneath them. Four of the six turbolift cars that ran through the pylon were off somewhere else, but the other two were waiting, and a few minutes later he arrived in the storage core.

  The core was arranged in a series of large rooms, each nearly filled with stacks of crates held in place by multiple wrappings of crash webbing. A relatively narrow section at the front of each room was empty, providing a walkway and work area for sorting the crates. At each end of the walkway were a pair of doors leading into the rooms forward and aft of it: one of the doors person-sized, the other the much larger access panel required for transfer carts.

  The turbolift let him out in section 120, Uliar saw from the small plaque attached to the crash webbing. Ma'Ning had said the Jedi school was in 124, and he headed aft.

  Neither of the doors into 124 was marked with any special notice of its new classroom status. Steeling himself, trying not to think about all the legends about Jedi power, he walked up to the smaller door and touched the control.

  Nothing happened. He tried again; still nothing. He moved to the larger cargo door, only to find that it, too, was sealed. Stepping back to the smaller door, he curled his right hand into a fist and pounded gently on the metal.

  There was no answer. He knocked again, gradually increasing the volume level. Were theyall out making nuisances of themselves?

  "What do you want?"

  He jumped, turning to a comm display that had been set up to his left just inside the cargo netting. C'baoth's face was framed there, glowering at him. "I need to talk to you about your students and their teachers," Uliar said, feeling his resolve starting to erode beneath that intimidating gaze. "They're in a reactor control and monitor room where they have no business-"

  "Thank you for your interest," C'baoth interrupted. "But there's no need for concern."

  "Excuse me, Master C'baoth, but there's every need for concern," Uliar insisted. "Some of those systems are very delicate. It took me fouryears to learn how to handle them properly."

  "Your ways are not the Jedi ways," C'baoth pointed out.

  "That's a nice slogan," Uliar growled. His anger, which had faded somewhat during the trip down here, was starting to bubble again. "But devotion to platitudes is no substitute for tech school."

  C'baoth's dark look went a little darker. "Your lack of faith is both thoughtless and insulting," he said. "You will go now, and you will not return."

  "Not until those children are out of my reactor room," Uliar said doggedly.

  "I saidgo," C'baoth repeated.

  And suddenly an invisible hand was pressing against Uliar's chest, pushing him inexorably away from the locked door and back toward the other end of the section. "Wait!" Uliar protested, batting uselessly at the pressure against his chest. He'd never realized Jedi could do this through a comm display, without actually being there in person. "What about the children?"

  C'baoth didn't answer, his image following Uliar with his eves until he was nearly to the far door. Then, simultaneously, the display image and the pressure on Uliar's chest vanished.

  For a long minute Uliar stood where he was, his heart pounding with tension and dissipating adrenaline, trying to decide whether he should go back across the room and try again. But there was obviously no point in doing so. Taking a deep breath, he turned and made his way back up to Dreadnaught-4 and the reactor room.

  Ma'Ning and the children were gone when he arrived, and Sivv and Algrann were at their stations. "Well?" Sivv asked as Uliar silently took his scat.

  "He told me to go away and mind my own business," Uliar told him.

  "Thisis our business."

  "Don't tellme," Uliar said tartly. "Go tellhim."

  "Maybe we should talk to Pakmillu," Algrann suggested hesitantly.

  "What for?" Uliar growled. "Looks to me like the Jedi are the ones running the show now."

  Algrann cursed under his breath. "Terrific. We leave a tyranny run by bureaucrats and corrupt politicians, only to end up in one run by Jedi."

  "It's not a tyranny," Sivv disagreed.

  "No," Algrann said tightly. "Not yet."

  Chapter 18

  Outbound Flight," Qennto repeated, frowning off into space as he slowly shook his head. "Nope. Never heard of it."

  "Me, neither," Maris seconded. "And you say this Kav and Stratis want todestroy it?"

  "Kav and whoever," Car'das said. "Thrawn thinksStratis is an alias."

  "Fine; Kav and Master No One," Qennto said impatiently. "So why do they want to destroy it?"

  Car'das shrugged. "Stratis spun a big loop pastry about how dangerous the Jedi are and how they want to take over and make everyone to do things their way. But that has to be a lie."

  "Not necessarily," Qennto said. "A lot of people out there are starting to wonder about the Jedi."

  "They're certainly helping to prop up the Coruscant bureaucracy," Maris pointed out. "Anyone who wants genuine government reform will have to persuade the Jedi to change sides."

  "Or else kill them," Qennto said.

  Maris shivered. "I can't believe it would ever come to that."

  "Well, Stratis sure wasn't talking about persuasion," Car'das said. "What about these Dreadnaughts? You ever hear of them?"

  "Yeah, they're Rendili StarDrive's latest gift to the militarily obsessed," Qennto said. "Six hundred meters long, with heavy shields and a whole bunch of upgraded turbolaser cannons, most of them clustered in four midline bubbles where they can deliver a terrific broadside volley. Normal crew runs around sixteen thousand, with room for another two or three thousand troops. I hear the Corporate Sector's been buying them up like Transland Day souvenirs, and some of the bigger Core Worlds aren't far behind."

  "Has Coruscant been doing any of the buying?" Maris asked.

  Qennto shrugged. "There's been talk lately about the Republic finally getting its own army and a genuine battle fleet. But they've been talking that way for years, and nothing's ever come of it."

  "So with six Dreadnaughts, we're talking up to a hundred thousand people aboard Outbound Flight?" Car'das asked.

  "Probably no more than half that," Qennto said. "A lot of the standard j
obs would be duplicated among the ships. Besides that, you want to build in extra elbow room on a long-term colony ship."

  "That's still a lot of people to kill if all they want is to get at a few Jedi," Maris pointed out.

  "Don't worry, I'm sure your noble-minded Commander Thrawn won't fall for it," Qennto said sourly.

  "But even if Thrawn doesn't cooperate, Stratis still has an intact Trade Federation battleship on hand," Car'das reminded them. "That's a lot of firepower, and they might have more of them on the way."

  "So what do we do?" Maris asked.

  "Wedo nothing," Qennto said firmly. "It's notour job to look out for this Outbound Flight."

  "But we can't just sit here and do nothing," Maris protested. "No, we can run like scalded hawk-bats," Qennto retorted.

  "And I'm thinking this would be a real good time to do just that." "But-"

  "Maris," Qennto said, cutting her off with an uplifted hand. "It's not our problem. You hear me? It'snot our problem. If the Jedi are going to go flying off into the Unknown Regions, it's up tothem to figure out how to protect themselves. It's up tous to figure out how to get ourselves out of here. That is, if you think you can drag yourself away from all this nobility and culture."

  "That's not fair," Maris protested, her eyes hard even as a touch of pink colored her cheeks.

  "Whatever." Qennto turned back to Car'das. "You're his confidant these days, kid. You think you can sweet-talk him into letting us have that Vagaari loot his brother locked away?" He jerked a thumb at Maris. "Or should I ask Maris to do it?"

  "Rak-" Maris began.

  "I don't think sweet talk is going to be the issue," Car'das said hastily. The tension between Qennto and Maris was starting to drift into the red zone again. "He can't give it to us unless his brother and Admiral Ar'alani both let him."

  "So how do we get Ar'alani back here?" Maris asked.

  "We don't have to," Car'das said grimly, glancing at his chrono. "As a matter of fact, Thrawn's probably welcoming her onto the base right now."

  "Great," Qennto said, brightening. "Let's get our hearing, get our loot, and get out of here."

  "I don't think so," Car'das said. "She's here to see whether or not Thrawn should be relieved of command."

  There was a moment of stunned silence. "That's insane," Mavis said at last. "He's agood commander. He's a goodman."

  "And when did either of those ever matter?" Qennto muttered. "Oh, boy. And she was already dead set against giving us the Vagaari stuff. This is not good."

  "Can't you for one minute forget about your loot?" Maris asked crossly. "This is Thrawn's career and life we're talking about."

  "No, Ican't forget about the loot," Qennto countered. "In case you've forgotten, sweetheart, we're already two and a half months late getting Drixo her furs and firegems. Theonly thing that's going to keep us alive when we finally show up is if we have something extra to calm her down with."

  Maris grimaced. "I know," she murmured.

  "So what do we do?" Car'das asked.

  "Whatyou're going to do is convince them to hand it over," Qennto said. "And don't ask how," he added as Car'das opened his mouth. "Beg, cajole, bribe-whatever it takes."

  "You're the only one who can do it," Maris agreed soberly. "Anytime Rak or I even step outside our quarters, we have an escort following us around."

  Car'das sighed. "I'll do what I can."

  "And don't forget this is a limited-time window," Qennto warned. "Right now, we have at least half an ally in Thrawn. If he gets the boot, we won't have even that much."

  Briefly, Car'das wondered what they would say if he told them Thrawn had publicly accused all three of them of espionage. But there was no point in worrying them any more than they were already. "I'll do what I can," he said again, getting to his feet. "See you later."

  He left their quarters and started down the corridor. Ar'alani's welcoming ceremony was probably over, but she and Thrawn were most likely still together. Probably talking about Thrass's accusations; Ar'alani hadn't struck him as the sort who would waste any more time with ceremonial niceties than necessary. Maybe he could leave word with one of Thrawn's officers that he wanted to see the commander at his earliest convenience.

  "So youdo have free run of the base."

  Car'das turned. Thrass was coming up behind him, his expression giving no hint as to what was going on behind those glowing eyes. "Syndic Mittlfras'safis," Car'das greeted him, fighting to get his brain online again. "Forgive my surprise; I assumed you'd be with your brother and the admiral."

  Thrass inclined his head. "Come with me, please." He turned and strode off down the corridor. With his pulse pounding uncomfortably in his throat, Car'das followed.

  Thrass led the way to the upper level of the base, where Thrawn and the senior officers had their quarters. They passed a few warriors along the way, none of whom gave either the syndic or the human so much as a curious glance, and finally arrived at a door marked with Cheunh symbols that Car'das couldn't quite decipher. "In here," Thrass said, opening the door and gesturing inside. Bracing himself, Car'das stepped past him into the room.

  He found himself in a small conference room with half a dozen computer-equipped chairs arranged in a circle around a central hologrammic display. Seated on the far side of the circle, resplendent in her white uniform, was Admiral Ar'alani. "Be seated, Car'das," she said in Cheunh as Thrass stepped into the room behind him.

  "Thank you, Admiral," Car'das said in the same language as he took the seat directly across from her. "Welcome back." She nodded acknowledgment, studying him thoughtfully as Thrass sat down in the chair to her right. "Your proficiency in Cheunh has improved," she commented. "My compliments."

  "Thank you," Car'das said again. "It's a beautiful language to listen to. I only regret that I'll never speak it as well as a Chiss."

  "No, you won't," Ar'alani agreed. "I understand you were with Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo on this latest military venture. Tell us what happened."

  Car'das glanced at Thrass, back at Ar'alani. "Forgive my impertinence, but shouldn't you ask Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo about this instead of me?"

  "We will," Ar'alani assured him darkly "Right now, we're askingyou. Tell us about this latest act of aggression."

  Car'das took a deep breath. "First of all, it wasn't really an act of aggression," he said, picking his words carefully "It was an expedition to investigate unknown warships that had been reported in the area."

  "Vessels that wouldn't have been reported at all if Mitth'raw'nuruodo wasn't already inclined to premature military action," Ar'alani pointed out.

  Beside her, Thrass stirred in his seat. "The Expansionary Fleet's charter does require observation and exploration in the regions around the Chiss Ascendancy," he said.

  "Observation and exploration," Ar'alani countered. "Not unprovoked military action." She lifted her eyebrows. "Or do you deny military action was taken and Chiss casualties sustained?"

  Car'das frowned. Thrawn hadn't mentioned anything about casualties. "I was unaware that any Chiss warriors had been lost."

  "TheWhirlwind did not return from the battle," Ar'alani said.

  "Oh," Car'das said, breathing a little easier. Of course; the missing cruiser was still at the battle scene, keeping theDarkvenge pinned down with the Vagaari gray projector. But he obviously couldn't tell Ar'alani that. "I still maintain that Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo fought only in self-defense."

  "Did the unknown enemy fire first?"

  "The firing of weapons isn't always the first act of aggression," Car'das hedged, once again feeling as if he were walking a narrow board over a pit of gundarks. "The Trade Federation battleships launched a massive force of droid starfighters. I've read reports of battles in which these weapons were used, and if Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo hadn't acted to neutralize them, his force would quickly have been overwhelmed."

  "Perhaps," Ar'alani said. "We'll know better once you've shown us around the battle zone."

  Ca
r'das felt his mouth go suddenly dry "Around the. .?"

  "You object?" Ar'alani demanded.

  "Well, for starters, I don't even know where it is," Car'das said, stalling for time as he thought furiously. If Ar'alani found theDarkvenge sitting out there

  "The location isn't a problem," Ar'alani assured him, holding up a slender cylinder tapered at both ends. "I have the last two months' worth of theSpringhawk 's navigational data."

  Car'das fought back a grimace. Terrific. "All right," he said. "But shouldn't we check first with Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo?"

  "We're going now precisely because Idon't want Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo to know about it," Ar'alani said. "I've sent him on a security sweep of the nearby systems, which should give us time to examine the battle zone and return." Her eyes glittered. "And onlythen will we ask for his version of the battle."